The dragons all growled with frustration at their lack of ability against Kazara. Her demon magic was not something they were used to fighting compared to other dragons. They only had a few Keepers on their side, Keepers of elements that weren't at risk of extinction or had a successor should they fall; Light, Earth, Air, Water, and Fire. If the Gravity Keeper had aided them, then Kazara's storms would not be as tricky to engage, but he had retreated with the others. Unlike those present, he had no successor, so the dragons did not think him cowardly to keep a distance.
Just as Ahvain, Tӕlaf and two other dragons made a pincer attack to try and catch Kazara off guard, a battle cry stopped them short. Kazara was still surprised. What dragon would expect a tiny human with a sword to suddenly launch right at them from below? Despite the fact Kazara could easily hold the massive figure of Kenpachi Zaraki in the palm of her forepaw, she was still knocked back through the air as his sword contacted with her chest.
"Sir Kenpachi, what are you doing here?" Myndrӕl questioned as he hovered next to the Soul Reaper after the man made himself a platform of Spirit Energy to stand on. "This is a fight for dragons."
"And I don't care, I want a crack at her." Kenpachi shot back with a wicked grin. "You guys can take the pipsqueaks down below."
"How dare you!" The Fire Keeper snarled. "This is not a game, this dragon has committed the worst of crimes among us and we will deal with her ourselves."
"Tch, just let him." Wardin snapped back, the Keeper glaring at him next. "He's small enough we can fight without hitting him."
Kenpachi laughed as if his dragon told a good joke, but none of the others looked amused, Kazara especially looking furious as she curled through the sky and turned her attention to the Soul Reaper that took down one of her sisters by himself. The sky rumbled dangerously around them, Lightning dragons taking on the electricity so their non-electric kin could fly safely. The green dragon from before charged forward before Kenpachi could, her rage as one of the mothers who lost an egg to Kazara in decades past fueling her power. Her fellow Earth dragons assisted her to keep Kazara off balance. Aberon went for the tail, his jaws clamping down. She snarled at him and twisted through the air, sending him flying into a building. Blood colored her golden scales and she cursed herself for getting distracted and allowing such an injury to her tail.
"When you don't have proper wings your tail is your lifeline in the sky." Shadow said as he dove from above, aiming to claw off the fins that kept her balance. "And without those you'll be completely grounded!"
"I will not be so careless again!" Kazara smacked the Dark dragon with her talons, not able to see how badly she injured him as she had to turn to fend off Hasyl and Ahvain. Taking on so many dragons was becoming a nuisance. Red glittered across her scales as she brought a shield of lightning around herself. If anyone got close they would get a shock unless they had a Lightning element, and those dragons were too busy holding off the storm.
Almost all of them, anyway. One had a different idea of helping. Wardin, the bizarre Lightning dragon, let his partner mount him before the pair of them went head on against the great demon dragon. A blizzard rose up as Myndrӕl backed them up with his powers, sapphire scales gleaming with energy as he brought forth the power his Keepers of Ice and Water gave him to be the Dragon King. Kenpachi ignored the help, a grin on his face and an echo of a laugh from his sword as he went to land a blow on Kazara. Defiant, she charged back. Her talons tore a wound in Wardin's side just as his fangs took off one of her flight fins and Kenpachi's blade cut a gash into her long neck. She roared in pain and fury, but the battle raged on. The attack gave the other dragons hope, however, and they did their best to aid the powerful Soul Reaper.
Back down below, casualties were beginning to arise and Unohana finally had to step in to rescue her comrades or else lose more lives. Yamamoto guarded her with his zanpaktou flames as she pulled unconscious soldiers from the field. Rukia and Mashiro had taken heavy injuries from Dark Lyrah's vicious attacks, the former out of breath after attempting her Bankai only to be knocked out of it by the phantom in her brief moment of vulnerability in its activation, and even Mashiro's powerful Hollow mask only incited rage onto her from the wolf rather than protect her. Byakuya and Kensei both seemed to be fighting with more gusto than before, and Ichigo's fury could be heard in his shouts. The more pacifist Greenleaf daughter, Ӕlfwyn, was forced back by her mother after she took on poison from Dark Luetha's plants to protect her twin, Ralӕn herself pressing on despite her bleeding wounds and ignoring her mother's protests in order to fight more. Komamura had tried to use Bankai as Rukia had, but his particular weakness of taking the same damage his spirit did worked against him when a demon like Luetha could constrict him with plants and spear him with sharp and thorny trees. Fighting against the shadow user Korla, Love took some grave hits and was taken from the fight by Hachi.
Despite having to pull some of their men from the fight, however, they felt they were making progress. Having so many Captains close together was a bit of a hassle to one another as their powers clashed, but it was necessary to counter the terrifying demon powers around them. As Mayuri unleashed his Bankai against Dark Luetha and had Nemu act as a distraction, Nanao pulled Kyoraku aside, taking advantage of Byakuya's wide-spread ability to take shelter from the wraiths.
"I refuse to just sit back and use Kido any longer, it has no use. Bring out my zanpaktou!" She berated her Captain.
His eyes widened in shock, surprised she knew of such a thing.
"There's no time to hesitate or think about it! Hurry!" She glanced to the side as vines of inky black crept closer to them, sharp spines waiting to shred their skin. "For now, just forget all about that promise you made with my mother!"
Though shock was clear in his expression, Kyoraku turned for a moment to cut away the approaching vines. He knew he wasn't the only one wishing there was enough space to use their Bankai at will, and that restriction alone was making this battle ten times more difficult than it would have been if they could split up the Demon Lords. Perhaps Nanao had a point.
"So you knew?" He couldn't help a cheeky look on his face as he looked back to his Lieutenant.
"Yes." Contrasting him, her expression was stern and determined.
"All this time?"
"Yes."
"Well… looks like the cat's out of the bag." He chuckled lightly. "That look you've got is leaving me with no other option. I'll 'give it back' then, your zanpaktou…"
Meanwhile, Luetha had surrounded herself in a barrier of carnivorous plants that could swallow a person whole and fast enough they couldn't get by with Flash Step. Mayuri's Bankai was killing off the plants with its poisonous breath, but it meant the other Soul Reapers had to quickly flee elsewhere if they didn't want to get caught up in it, leaving just the master himself and Nemu with the plant phantom, Sylfie, Ralӕn and Shuhei all rushing to help Kadin and the others fight Korla instead.
"If only you demons didn't have a habit of disintegrating once you died." Mayuri spoke with an annoyed tone. "I wasn't able to study any of you Demon Lords with all the madness going on which is greatly disappointing."
The baby-faced Bankai spirit bit into one of the vines that tried to constrict around it, the black plant turning a deathly white and crumbling away, the strange blight spreading rapidly down the decaying matter back to its source. One of the carnivorous plants severed the vine before the blight could contaminate them.
"Not as stupid as you look." Mayuri didn't sound as impressed as his statement suggested. Most creatures were willing to chew off an injured or infected body part if it increased their chances of survival, it was a base primal instinct to take a small loss to prevent a bigger one.
Dark Luetha focused a barrage of thorns his direction but Konjiki Ashisogi Jizo put its large body in front before giving out an angry baby screech and tearing at the carnivorous plants with its fatty yellow hands.
As his Bankai was tearing apart the black garden, Mayuri noticed an odd collection of plants growing at his feet. They seemed rather harmless compared to the tooth-covered savages the phantom had been using up until now, but that made him immediately wary. What poison did they have? Did they have projectiles? Gas? The flowers began to open and while he saw nothing come out of the petals his limbs began to feel heavy almost immediately. Such fast acting work! And it was a poison he didn't have an immunity for in his antidote concoction he'd taken before the fight. If only he could make his muscles move he would gladly collect a few of these flowers for later.
His body did move, but not by his own will. Nemu had pushed him away from the neon green now showing on the insides of the petals as they fully opened. Where there had been only a colorless paralyzing gas before, a sickly yellow cloud of spores rose up and proved itself to be acid. The moment it came into contact with Nemu her skin bled openly and seemed to melt off her muscles.
"Fool!" Mayuri scowled angrily, feeling returning to his limbs quickly and allowing him to use a Kido to push her out of the acid cloud. He Flash Stepped over to her once she was clear of the gas as she slumped weakly to the ground. "What are you doing acting on your own accord without orders?"
"I decided that you required a 'shield' for this fight." Nemu replied quietly, ignoring the pain burning every inch of her skin.
"I don't remember ever teaching you that it was okay to assist me based on your own personal reasoning and judgement."
The acid began to reach the ground where more of the flowers began to grow, spreading the field further outward. Mayuri's giant Bankai crashed itself into the ground and wiggled around, snuffing out the field of flowers with minimal damage to itself thanks to its master's many modifications to it.
"Correct." Nemu finally spoke up. "You have never taught me that…"
"I was very specific about you not picking up on things I haven't directly instructed you on myself."
She had no reply.
"Nemu… Rather, Nemuri Nanago."
At the name, she managed to look up at him in surprise. It had been a long time since he last used that name for her.
"Through the great many battles we've been through ever since Ichigo Kurosaki's had shown up, it appears that I may have taught you a little too much. I'm sure you realize just how much of a burden it would be for me to raise the 'next you' up in the same way as the 'current you'."
"…I do not know."
Mayuri's anger flared up at that, but there was something else hidden in his tone.
"If you don't know then refrain from acting on your own intuition and instincts!" He took a full syringe out of somewhere in his coat and jabbed it into her arm. As the contents were emptied into her bloodstream, her skin began to recover from the acid. "You do not have the freedom to sacrifice your life as you see fit! Your life will only end when and where I deem appropriate. Now that I've cleared that up, rise!"
"Yes, sir, Catpain Mayuri."
"Excuse us." Kyoraku's tone cut through as he and his own Lieutenant returned to the scene, Nanao looking nervous with a sword in her hands. "Sorry for stepping out, but how about we deal with the devil gardener now?"
"Ah, I see the family curse has been passed on." Mayuri noted casually. Nanao didn't seem too surprised that he knew about it, correctly guessing that he probably did some side research on it when she became a Lieutenant with no zanpaktou. "Let's get this over with then."
New strength in their step, the four of them engaged Luetha once more, the enchantress no longer distracted by the baby-like Bankai as it backed off to let the Soul Reapers return.
As the battle between dragons above intensified, lightning and hail buffeted those below, making things harder for both sides. Visibility was reduced and they now had to be careful not to get electrocuted or impaled by icicles. The two phantoms didn't seem to care about the weather change, pressing forward, but Korla and Hunter couldn't help scowls on their faces.
"I suppose Kazara can't be the only who gets to have fun." Korla huffed, her skin shifting into a pitch black and eyes flashing gold. When Shuhei and Kadin both dashed forward to strike at her, their blades went right through as if she was smoke. They remembered Miyuki's report that Korla's demon form was a shapeshifter. They saw a brief glimpse of a golden gem in the shape of a human heart before it was concealed by the shadows one again, her body shifting into a huge wolverine of pitch black color, her new fur coat protecting her from the hail but still able to tear viciously at her opponents.
Hunter was managing to hold his own despite the three Royal Guards fighting against him as well as Kisuke, Rose and Kira. His ability to shift into shadows like Korla was part of the reason he was a troublesome opponent, and as Kira had found out, his claws and fangs held a deadly poison. Kisuke was doing his best to get rid of it, but Kira seemed to only be getting worse. Rose got hit with one of the twin tails and discovered that the spines hidden in the fleshy flail were equally as poisonous, the wound going through necrosis rapidly.
"You two need to get to Unohana now." Kisuke snapped at them. The only way he could help them now would be to use Bankai, but the power of the Royal Guards got in the way. He debated just retreating with them and assisting Unohana, but his power wasn't necessarily meant for healing.
"You should all go, and allow us to deal with the creature." Ichibe countered, holding his Shikai form, Ichimonji, before him. The short glaive attached to what looked like a larger version of a brush handle was more than it seemed, able to change something's true name at will. The only reason Hunter hadn't been reduced to a mere puppy by it was Hunter's constantly shifting nature. Hunter had no true name for Ichibe to change, no real form or personality, a creature made specifically to be Kamai's familiar without the actual soul of one. It was but a shadow given powers to kill, and so changing its name meant nothing to it. This meant Kirio and Senjumaru had trouble holding it down as well.
"Blast this monster, Dethmaiyn must have created it specifically to counter our abilities." Senjumaru scowled. "No name to rewrite, no form to trap, but plenty of poison and hatred."
"It is said that a name is a familiar's power, so perhaps I will give it one." Ichibe mused while behind him Kisuke gave in and assisted Rose and Kira away from battle. "Do you think it will obey me if I do?"
Hunter snarled at them.
"Knowing Dethmaiyn I doubt he would make it so easy." Kirio readied her blade for an attack as the familiar crouched down to pounce.
"Can't hurt to try!"
The fighting was escalating quickly, the air heavy with power as the forces prepared to lay down their lives in this final fight. The dark mist around Kamai and the two fighting him dispersed as he finally caught one of the girls, his arm still bleeding and a frustrated look on his face. Momo choked in his grasp as he held her up off the ground, Miyuki and her familiar backing up a step in surprise, opaque tendrils restricting around their limbs and making them shake in terror.
Fire flashed across the battlefield as someone else came to aid them, leaving her brother and companions to deal with the werewolf phantom, wings of flame flared as she struck out with her claws and forced Kamai to let go of the Lieutenant. Karin was not about to see any other close friends perish, the terror that started to seep into her heart from being in Kamai's range was ignored in favor of fury. The Wyvern was ready for blood.
"All three women close to my rival's heart right here within my grasp." Kamai chuckled. "Let the end begin."
"The only one ending is you!" Karin replied fiercely, her zanpaktou's fire burning brightly.
Sorry this took so long, fight scenes aren't my strong suit, especially with this many super powerful contrasting characters in one place. I also really wanted to include some of the scenes in the final arc of Bleach that I actually enjoyed, if edited to fit the situation better, though my skills with some of those characters (mainly Mayuri) isn't the greatest. It may seem a bit scattered, but that's war, and that's kind of how the final arc went as well with so many fights at once. Hell that's kind of just Bleach fights in general.
The only other excuse I have for tardiness is that it's the holiday season so between finals, depression and family obligations I haven't had great motivation to work on anything, or time for that matter. I know a lot of other people have the same worries so I won't go into detail, it's just kind of a given thing this time of year. I will say that my place of employment has new holiday hours that make me really tired so that adds to my lack of motivation since I just want to sleep most of the morning after multiple midnight closing shifts.
I hope this still turned out okay, and there's still more fighting to come, lots that I want to get to.